Where does Ukraine go from here?
The vast majority of Western media characterize the move on russia's border as an imminent "invasion," and the Western propaganda machine is too powerful to hold the right to define.
In fact, the movement of Russian troops on the border is certainly not an invasion. The West's constant stimulation of Russia is actually piercing Russia's weakness.
The war rages of the Eastern European Plains
US President Joe Biden recently ordered an additional 3,000 troops in Eastern Europe to be deployed in Poland and Romania near Ukraine. Last week Biden ordered 8,500 U.S. troops to improve their combat readiness.
Of the 3,000 troops, 1,000 were originally stationed in Germany, armed with Stryker infantry fighting vehicles, and moved directly east to defend Romania. Another 2,000 people set off from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Poland.
The intensive militarization of Eastern Europe, combined with the lingering question of Ukraine, has reached the heart of Russia's strategy: geopolitics.
If you look at russia's borders, its eastern, western and northern sides all have natural dangers for Russia to defend, and even if any country intends to attack Russia from these directions, it must withstand the test of terrain and long-distance attacks.
But this excellent defensive terrain is missing in only one direction: the plains of Eastern Europe.
The Eastern European Plain is the only plain terrain in Russia that is almost undefendable.
Without going into history, take the German "Barbarossa Plan" in World War II, which allowed the armored division to kill all the way from the vast plains of Eastern Europe to the front of Moscow.
Until the Red Army resolutely resisted, the German army could not continue to fight because of excessive supplies and a cold climate.
In Russia's history, the vast majority of foreign offensives by other countries have almost always been carried out on this endless plain of Eastern Europe.
It is conceivable that Russia will inevitably wait for this area that has no danger to defend, take strict precautions, and be more vigilant.
This also explains why, after the Yalta Conference, throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Union controlled the vast majority of the Eastern European Plain countries as a strategic buffer.
However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991, the member states became almost rapidly independent, and these countries were more or less anti-Soviet and even anti-Russian.
Coupled with the fact that the United States has repeatedly tricked Russia into stopping NATO's eastward expansion, Russia has been unable to deal effectively due to its strength, internal affairs and economic problems, resulting in today's situation.
The Ukraine crisis did not arise suddenly in a day, it was a historic process of oppression of Russia by Europe and the United States.
By 2004, Russia's president was already Putin, who was extremely sensitive to security strategy, and this year, NATO "wholesaled" Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria to join the union.
The acceleration of NATO's eastward expansion is precisely the encroachment on Russia's "taking advantage of your illness and asking for your life."
At this time, Putin had to deal with domestic problems first. Putin is not blind to NATO's threat to Russia, but "the outside must first be inside", he needs time to deal with.
Finally, after the family affairs were cleaned up, Russia's internal and military affairs gradually gained a foothold, and Putin found that NATO had almost expanded to the doorstep.
This sense of crisis is the real urgency, and Ukraine has become the weakest buffer state on Russia's periphery.
In 2014, a "orange revolution" brought down pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, and in this "spontaneous" coup d'état of the Ukrainian people, Russia has discovered that the last thing they want to see, that is, the West and its intelligence agencies, have appeared in Russia's peripheral buffer states.
Putin launched a classic "anti-intervention" military campaign against Crimea.
Taking Crimea, Russia would have made a statement to the West and Ukraine: this is a warning not to cross the line again, russia will not sit idly by and watch the situation continue to develop against the country.
However, the West has chosen to ignore Putin's warnings and only hopes to continue to eat away at Russia's buffer countries one by one, so that in the future, it can directly let neighboring countries continue to "bleed" on Russia.
Ben was born from the same root
Ukrainians certainly knew the importance of their country to Russia, but by this time Ukrainian politicians were already overwhelmed, and a series of Russian-Ukrainian conflicts were intensifying.
At this time, Russia still hopes to make Ukraine a strategic buffer country, even if you are not pro-Russian, it does not matter, so Russia has given a "friendship price" in the price of natural gas. The gas price usually given to Ukraine is quite favorable compared to Western Europe, and even Ukraine steals gas in the "Nord Stream One", and the Russians turn a blind eye.
There were even $15 billion in aid loans. Russia, of course, knows that Ukraine cannot afford it, but this money can at least be exchanged for a ukrainian domestic stability, and this money is not a waste.
But after Yanukovych was ousted by the coup, the choice of the Ukrainians made the Russians lose hope of a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian issue.
A large number of military and police officers who obeyed Yanukovych's orders were criticized, the populist voice in Ukraine was continuous, and the "actor president" Zelenskiy could not effectively suppress the radical behavior inside, and could only be arched by a group of unreasonable Ukrainian populists, colliding with the Russian bottom line again and again.
In Wudong, many Ukrainians with Russian culture and habits have lived in this area for a long time.
In the face of serious anti-Russian populism in Ukraine and the deteriorating internal and economic problems, the People of Eastern Ukraine looked to Crimea, and they began to seek independence like Crimea.
Thus, the two republics of Donetsk and Luhansk were established one after another, and Russia provided some military and economic assistance to these two Eastern Ukrainian forces on the issue of Eastern Ukraine, so that the two countries could gain a firm foothold, but at this time, Russia did not directly end.
Because Putin still hopes that Kiev can wake up and turn back to the shore.
Last year, Putin even published a signed article, "On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians", which spent a lot of time reviewing the common beliefs, cultures and languages of Russia and Ukraine, hoping to inspire Ukrainians with "historical feelings".
"At the foot of the volcano"
As one of the "three Slavic brothers", once Ukraine is fully Westernized in ideology and culture and breaks with the same roots in traditional values, it is inevitable to step into the abyss in the geopolitical game and eventually become a springboard for Western anti-Russianism.
In Putin's view, independent Ukraine can be quickly stabilized and developed in the country through economic exchanges with the West on domestic and economic issues, coupled with the help given by Russia, populist and extremist forces will not easily have room to survive, and Russian-Ukrainian military showdowns can be avoided.
Putin's vision is full and idealistic, and Western lies and deceptions have been tearing ukraine apart.
Europe, deeply influenced by the United States, does not want a serious conflict with Russia, but the lies it has told make it difficult to recover the trust it has lost.
The purpose of NATO's establishment is to defend Russia, and after a large number of Eastern European countries are included, Eastern European countries are not as peaceful as imagined, and they directly adopt an extremely unfriendly attitude towards Russia on many issues.
Today, perhaps what the West should really think about is not how to help Ukraine become a "hedgehog", but how to learn to bow its head and admit the mistakes of the past and build the most basic trust with Russia.
But recently NATO leaders have visited Kiev, typified by Polish Prime Minister Mikhail Morawiecki: "With a neighbor like Russia, we are like living at the foot of a volcano." (End)